"Reform" or "Opening"? Reform of China's State-Owned Enterprises and WTO Accession - The Dilemma of Applying GATT to Marketing Economies

Abstract

REFORM OR OPENING ? REFORM OF CHINA'S STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES AND WTO ACCESSION - THE DILEMMA OF APPLYING GATT TO MARKETIZING ECONOMIES David Blumental* TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION II. THE ISSUE - RECONCILING DOMESTIC POLICY WITH ADHERENCE TO INTERNATIONAL NORMS A. China's Political Dilemma 1. Social Welfare, Unemployment and Social Stability 2. Subsidies, Policy Loans and Banking R eform B. China's Perspective on the WTO and A ccession C. WTO's Perspective on China's Accession: Reconciling Domestic Policy with International N orm s 1. The Global Economy: From GATT to W T O 2. Change in the International Order: Creating a World Trade System * J.D. Candidate, University of California at Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall), 1999; A.M. Stanford University, 1991; B.A. Middlebury College, 1988. The author has lived and worked in China for over eight years as a journalist, interpreter, and consultant in foreign investment and economic reform matters. He has been active in the China field for fifteen years, and is the founder of a multimedia con- sultancy providing integrated communications solutions to foreign investors and businesses in the PRC. This fall he will join Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. as an associate in the firm's Business & International section. Special thanks are owed Bob Berring, John C. Yoo, Stanley Lubman, Handel C. H. Lee, and Feng Li, without whom this article would not have been possible.